Taking up development of existing research codes. A discussion on common issues and effective ways of dealing with them

29 January 2019 - 12:00-13:00

COM-G12-Main Lewin

Dr Spiridon Siouris, University of Sheffield

Abstract: Research codes in Engineering are written with the aim of generating results as quick as possible so that interesting physical phenomena can be analysed. However, time constraints, lack of formal training in Computer Science/Software development, and pressure for results leads to software that can be problematic. In this talk we will discuss about:

The issues faced with research software and the need for maintainable and reliable code

The steps taken for quickly getting familiarised and productive in code development

The tools used, such as for documentation, debugging, profiling

Holistic approach on code optimisation

Good programming practices, along with references for further reading
The aspects of software development discussed here will be helpful to researchers joining projects that require further development of existing software, and also researchers that are tasked to create new software.

Bio: Dr. Spiridon Siouris is a Research Fellow in the Low Carbon Combustion Group in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Sheffield. His research is focused on modeling chemically reacting flows in gas turbine fuel and lubrication systems using CFD and lower order modelling codes. Currently he is working on further developing a CFD code in which wall boundaries can deform according to deposition growth layers due to thermal oxidative degradation in jet fuels (FINCAP project with Rolls Royce). For over a decade he has been involved in numerous software projects for aerospace applications, and has worked alongside students, PhD researchers, and professional engineers developing modeling software. He has been exposed to a wide range in quality of coding, and his enthusiasm for computers, programming and engineering, drive him to educate people towards developing high quality software.